Only by Linking the Mainland Will Innovative Industries Have a Way-out

  Only by Linking the Mainland Will Innovative Industries Have a Way-out

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

  July 29, 2017

 Translation of an Excerpt

There is a great wave of innovation and entrepreneurship globally; the zeal in Asia is particularly apparent. Well-known research institutes CB Insights and PWC point out that capital-raising by new businesses in Asia in Q2 this year has reached US$19.3 billion, surpassing the United States for the first time. Among the first five new industries, China occupies three, respectively, Didi Chuxing, Beijing Bytedance, and Elee.me, each raising capital over US$1 billion. In the global tide of innovation and entrepreneurship, China, with the support of private entrepreneurship and mass innovation policies, is now at par with the United States, even showing an over-taking trend.

Why is it that innovation and entrepreneurship developed so fast in China? The government’s strong support may be a major factor, but behind it the ample funds and resources, and the scenario of abundant market applications, are truly the crux of the matter. To erect an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship, funding is definitely an indispensable element. The market economy reform over the past 30 years in China, aside from enabling the rapid growth of national economic strength, the accumulation of private sector wealth is even more spectacular. As to assets that may be thrown into investment, according to the "2017 China Private Sector Wealth Report" issued by China Merchants Bank and Bain & Company, population with a high net worth surpassing 10 million Renminbi has reached 1.58 million people; this figure was a mere 180,000 10 years ago. What does this mean? Those angel investors who can and are willing to throw their money at innovative enterprises are too numerous to count.

Taiwan has also been striving to meet this global tide of innovation and entrepreneurship, but the policy has always targeted the US Silicon Valley, whether it is to send industries out or to bring capital in, it seems that Silicon Valley is the only goal, entirely oblivious to the labor in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen which rise to a rapid growth and have ample funding and resources.

In the past year, the government has conducted a cold treatment for cross-Strait relations, thus private sector innovative enterprises have lost many opportunities for cooperation, finding it difficult to raise capital on the Mainland. Viewing the capacity for innovation and new enterprises on the Mainland at the present time, in fact Taiwan has no reason to shut itself out. When the government rather uses Silicon Valley as the driftwood for innovative industries, it would be better to ponder how to link innovation and entrepreneurship on both sides of the Strait, and that is precisely the only true way-out for Taiwan’s innovative industries.

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